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Latina/o Sociology
Deported: Immigrant Policing, Disposable Labor and Global Capitalism
Winner, 2016 Distinguished Contribution to Research Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association Latino/a Section
The intimate stories of 147 deportees that exposes the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportations in the U.S.
The United States currently is deporting more people than ever 4 million people have been deported since 1997 –twice as many as all people deported prior to 1996. There is a disturbing pattern in the population 97% of deportees are sent to Latin America or the Caribbean, and 88% are men, many of whom were originally detained through the U.S. criminal justice system. Weaving together hard-hitting critique and moving first-person testimonials, Deported tells the intimate stories of people caught in an immigration law enforcement dragnet that serves the aims of global capitalism.
Tanya Golash-Boza uses the stories of 147 of these deportees to explore the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportation in the United States, showing how this crisis is embedded in economic restructuring, neoliberal reforms, and the disproportionate criminalization of black and Latino men. In the United States, outsourcing creates service sector jobs and more of a need for the unskilled jobs that attract immigrants looking for new opportunities, but it also leads to deindustrialization, decline in urban communities, and, consequently, heavy policing. Many immigrants are exposed to the same racial profiling and policing as native-born blacks and Latinos. Unlike the native-born, though, when immigrants enter the criminal justice system, deportation is often their only way out. Ultimately, Golash-Boza argues that deportation has become a state strategy of social control, both in the United States and in the many countries that receive deportees.
The intimate stories of 147 deportees that exposes the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportations in the U.S.
The United States currently is deporting more people than ever 4 million people have been deported since 1997 –twice as many as all people deported prior to 1996. There is a disturbing pattern in the population 97% of deportees are sent to Latin America or the Caribbean, and 88% are men, many of whom were originally detained through the U.S. criminal justice system. Weaving together hard-hitting critique and moving first-person testimonials, Deported tells the intimate stories of people caught in an immigration law enforcement dragnet that serves the aims of global capitalism.
Tanya Golash-Boza uses the stories of 147 of these deportees to explore the racialized and gendered dimensions of mass deportation in the United States, showing how this crisis is embedded in economic restructuring, neoliberal reforms, and the disproportionate criminalization of black and Latino men. In the United States, outsourcing creates service sector jobs and more of a need for the unskilled jobs that attract immigrants looking for new opportunities, but it also leads to deindustrialization, decline in urban communities, and, consequently, heavy policing. Many immigrants are exposed to the same racial profiling and policing as native-born blacks and Latinos. Unlike the native-born, though, when immigrants enter the criminal justice system, deportation is often their only way out. Ultimately, Golash-Boza argues that deportation has become a state strategy of social control, both in the United States and in the many countries that receive deportees.
320 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2023
I found this book interesting and pretty readable for a beginner to the topic. It took me a few months to get through and I put it down for a while, but once I picked it back up I was engrossed. The recent strikes in multiple sectors in the US stand in sharp contrast to the effect of immigration policy described in the book as producing a compliant labor force both in the US and abroad, which helped me start to be aware of a different kind of privilege. I'm looking forward to tracking down some of the other intriguing texts on immigration and neoliberalism referenced in this book's extensive bibliography.
December 14, 2020
This is the book that really conceptualized my global studies major for me. I know this is the author behind Immigration Nation on Netflix, and I couldn't stand to see crying men asking where their sons are. Reading the book still felt personal, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to do further research about deportees and their lives.
October 15, 2018
Re-read. this would be really suitable as an undergraduate text. Golash-Boza is going for the big picture, the systemic view; there are details that are glossed. But its a helpful book.
August 8, 2023
Great breakdown on us immigration policies and practices
March 20, 2024
Great sociological explanation of deportation and immigration in the US through a neoliberal lens. 4 stars mostly because I had to read it for a class, so it felt tedious.
March 24, 2025
I had to read this book for a class, but I actually really liked it.
December 15, 2020
I read this for my Race and Ethnic Relations class, and delved into it with the expectation that I would appreciate learning more about the stories of immigrants and especially deportees, but that my political views would likely differ from the author.
With respect to the former point, I was absolutely correct. Immigrants to the United States are among the most marginalized people in the world. A certain population of citizens in periphery countries have absolutely no opportunity for a stable life at home, whether that be the result of extreme poverty, the threat of violence, or little job opportunity. They therefore sell everything and flee to the United States, often undergoing journeys that take weeks or even months. The journeys of immigrants include hardships such as traversing the sea on overcrowded boats with standing room only, trekking across the desert with no food or water for days, and being taken advantage of, beaten, raped, and killed by the "coyotes" that they paid to lead them across the border, among many others. Many immigrants don't even reach the United States, but when they do, their hardships are not over.
In regards to the latter point that my political views would differ, I was surprised to find I did agree in many places with Golash-Boza about the detrimental effects of our legislation in the lives of undocumented immigrants. We do need to have borders that protect our nation, but continually upping the stakes and punishments for those that cross illegally does not slow illegal immigration; in a dire situation where you are willing to sell everything for the chance of a better life, it doesn't matter how much risk there is. Immigration laws in the U.S. result in undocumented immigrants being extremely vulnerable. Obviously, we can't reward immigrants that come across illegally with the rights of citizens, because that undermines our system of legal immigration (which could be a lot more accessible!). However, practices such as separating children from their families, no judicial review on deportation cases where the immigrant has been a law-abiding citizen for many years and has a U.S. citizen wife and family, and deportation holding cells where potential deportees can be held for months in subhuman conditions are unequivocally unjust. There were a few instances that Golash-Boza claimed that certain legislation, such as welfare and the war on drugs, was created to undermine the undocumented immigrant and make them more vulnerable. I agree that this is a latent function of these policies, but to posit that the manifest function of welfare and the war on drugs is to make undocumented immigrants more easily deportable and exploit their labor is to take an extremely cynical view on our policymakers. I am still not sure where I stand on globalism and the free-trade economy. It is obvious that transnational corporations take advantage of the working class in poor countries, but is the solution tighter regulation? If America imposes more regulations on transnational businesses, they will simply pack up and leave to another country. Is it America's responsibility to protect workers of other nations when their own governments are too corrupt to protect their own citizens? I am far too ignorant of legislation, world politics, and economics to come to a conclusion. But I will continue to ponder and learn.
With respect to the former point, I was absolutely correct. Immigrants to the United States are among the most marginalized people in the world. A certain population of citizens in periphery countries have absolutely no opportunity for a stable life at home, whether that be the result of extreme poverty, the threat of violence, or little job opportunity. They therefore sell everything and flee to the United States, often undergoing journeys that take weeks or even months. The journeys of immigrants include hardships such as traversing the sea on overcrowded boats with standing room only, trekking across the desert with no food or water for days, and being taken advantage of, beaten, raped, and killed by the "coyotes" that they paid to lead them across the border, among many others. Many immigrants don't even reach the United States, but when they do, their hardships are not over.
In regards to the latter point that my political views would differ, I was surprised to find I did agree in many places with Golash-Boza about the detrimental effects of our legislation in the lives of undocumented immigrants. We do need to have borders that protect our nation, but continually upping the stakes and punishments for those that cross illegally does not slow illegal immigration; in a dire situation where you are willing to sell everything for the chance of a better life, it doesn't matter how much risk there is. Immigration laws in the U.S. result in undocumented immigrants being extremely vulnerable. Obviously, we can't reward immigrants that come across illegally with the rights of citizens, because that undermines our system of legal immigration (which could be a lot more accessible!). However, practices such as separating children from their families, no judicial review on deportation cases where the immigrant has been a law-abiding citizen for many years and has a U.S. citizen wife and family, and deportation holding cells where potential deportees can be held for months in subhuman conditions are unequivocally unjust. There were a few instances that Golash-Boza claimed that certain legislation, such as welfare and the war on drugs, was created to undermine the undocumented immigrant and make them more vulnerable. I agree that this is a latent function of these policies, but to posit that the manifest function of welfare and the war on drugs is to make undocumented immigrants more easily deportable and exploit their labor is to take an extremely cynical view on our policymakers. I am still not sure where I stand on globalism and the free-trade economy. It is obvious that transnational corporations take advantage of the working class in poor countries, but is the solution tighter regulation? If America imposes more regulations on transnational businesses, they will simply pack up and leave to another country. Is it America's responsibility to protect workers of other nations when their own governments are too corrupt to protect their own citizens? I am far too ignorant of legislation, world politics, and economics to come to a conclusion. But I will continue to ponder and learn.
January 30, 2017
Now more than ever, I would recommend that this book be read. In a world with ever expanding global capitalism, large market widening has exploited the low-wage, disposable labor that immigrants provide while large corporations profit. In addition, policing of immigrants is unjust in its racial discrimination tactics-which ultimately serve to instill fear-and drive immigrants to continue to be exploited through greedy labor markets without any mercy for the separation of families, or the ability for immigrants to live the safe lives they risk their lives pursuing.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews